Socialism in Indiana in the 1920s, 1975-1976
A Guide to the Collection of Oral History Interviews at Indiana University
Bloomington
Finding aid prepared by the staff of the Center for
the Study of History and Memory with a grant from the National Endowment for the
Humanities Division of Preservation and Access, 2000-2002
Overview of the Collection
Repository
Indiana University Center for Documentary Research and Practice
Indiana University
Franklin Hall 0030B
601 E. Kirkwood Avenue
Bloomington, IN 47405
Phone: 812/855-2856
Fax: 812/855-0002
E-mail: ohrc@indiana.edu
https://cdrp.mediaschool.indiana.edu
Creator
Indiana University Center for the
Study of History and Memory
TitleSocialism in Indiana in the 1920s, 1975-1976
Project No.
ohrc094
Interviews
3 interviews. Audiotapes, transcripts, and collateral
materials.
Physical Location
Interviews are housed in Franklin Hall, Room 0030B. Copies of interview transcripts are also held by the IU Libraries University
Archives.
Contact archives@indiana.edu for more information. For other locations housing the interviews
from this project, please contact the Center for Documentary Research and Practice office.
Language
Materials are in English
Abstract
This collection of interviews provides a perspective of the
existence of political socialism in Marion and Elwood, Indiana during the early
half of the twentieth century. The interviewees are either retired workers or
the wives of workers, and they discuss their own personal involvement with
labor unions and the Socialist Party. They also talk about mayoral elections of
the 'teens and twenties in which there were Socialist candidates, such as Harry
Oatis and John L. Lewis.
Scope and Content Note
This collection contains three interviews conducted over one year. The interviews range from 70 to 155 minutes. All interviews
consist of audio reels and typed transcripts.
Administrative Information
Acquisition Information
Oral history interviews conducted by the Indiana University Center for the
Study of History and Memory from 1968 to the present, with particular focus on the
history of twentieth-century America and the Midwest.
Usage Restrictions
The archive of the Center for Documentary Research and Practice at Indiana University is open
to the use of researchers. Copies of transcript pages are available only when such copies
are permitted by the deed of gift. Scholars must honor any
restrictions the interviewee placed on the use of the interview. Since some of our earlier
(pre-computer) transcripts do not exist in final form, any editing marks in a transcript
(deletions, additions, corrections) are to be quoted as marked. Audio files may not be copied for
patrons unless the deed of gift permits it, and a transcript is unavailable for that
interview. The same rules of use that apply to a transcript apply to the audio interview.
Interviews may not be reproduced in full for any public use, but excerpted quotes may be
used as long as researchers fully cite the data in their research, including accession
number, interview date, interviewee's and interviewer's name, and page(s).
Preferred Citation
[interviewee first name last name] interview, by [interviewer first name last
name], [interview date(s)], [call number], [project name], Center for Documentary Research and Practice, Indiana University,
Bloomington, [page number(s) or tape
number and side if no transcript; if digital audio and no transcript, cite time when quote occurs].
Interview List
Interviewee
Brading, Flo Oatis
November 7,
1975
Call Number
75-054
Physical Description
32 pages; 1 reel, 3 3/4 ips, 75 minutes; no index;
photograph of interviewee
Interviewer
Stevens, Errol
Access Status
Open
Scope and Content Note
Flo Oatis Brading, born in 1888, discusses her late husband
Harry Oatis' involvement with the Socialist Party. She is assisted by her son,
Robert. Ms. Brading speaks about the 1921 mayoral election in Marion, Indiana,
in which her husband ran as a candidate for the Socialist Party and almost won.
She mentions her husband's attitudes towards the First World War and his
fondness for Eugene Debs. She also considers the decline of socialism in
Marion.
-
Keywords
-
-
Corporation Names
- American Legion
- Ku Klux Klan
-
-
Place Names
- Debs, Eugene V.
- Kelley, John W.
- Lewis, John L.
- Marion, Indiana
- Oatis, Harold
-
-
Subjects
- unions
- World War II
Interviewee
Padfield, Fred
June 17,
1976
Call Number
76-055
Physical Description
34 pages; 1 reel, 1 7/8 ips, 70 minutes; no
index
Interviewer
Stevens, Errol
Access Status
Open
Scope and Content Note
Fred Padfield, born in 1883, shares his experiences as a
life-long steelworker. He began working in the mills at the age of thirteen in
Elwood, Indiana and retired in Gary, Indiana. With the help of his wife and
daughter, Mr. Padfield shares some of his memories of working in the mills. He
remembers the 1909 strike and the election of a socialist mayor in 1917, but
was not himself involved with the Socialist Party or any unions.
-
Keywords
-
-
Corporation Names
- U.S. Steel Corporation
-
-
Occupation Names
- steelworker
-
-
Personal Names
- Lewis, John L.
- Wilkie, Herbert
-
-
Place Names
- Elwood, Indiana
- Gary, Indiana
-
-
Subjects
- 1909 metalworker strike
- factory pollution
- steel industry
- unions
Interviewee
Pritchard, Lillian
September 1,
1976
Call Number
76-063
Physical Description
65 pages; 2 reels, 3 3/4 ips, 155 minutes; no
index
Interviewer
Stevens, Errol
Access Status
Open
Scope and Content Note
Lillian Pritchard, born in South Wales in 1895, reflects on the
large Welsh community working in the tin mills of Elwood, Indiana. She
remembers her father's devotion to labor unions and his experiences during the
1909 strike. She also shares her memories of Elwood in the early twentieth
century. Ms. Pritchard speculates that Socialist candidates like John Lewis
were elected because of their individual popularity, not for their political
platforms.
-
Keywords
-
-
Personal Names
- Edwards, William
- Lewis, John L.
- Rogers, Samuel
-
-
Place Names
- Elwood, Indiana
- Wales
-
-
Subjects
- 1909 metalworker
-
Romancing and Tin
Plate
- tin industry
- unions
- Welsh immigrants
